Emerance Maschmeyer wants to bounce back on the biggest stages, and the
24-year-old goaltender is hoping her time at the 4 Nations Cup will be just
a starting point – for her and Canada’s National Women’s Team.

“I am definitely looking for redemption in many ways,” says Maschmeyer.
“First and foremost, taking back the gold medal. For me personally, I think
after a tough year, I am excited to be back with Team Canada again.”

Maschmeyer had an up and down 2017. The Bruderheim, Alta., native got a
call she wasn’t expecting – that she would be staying at home rather than
going to South Korea as part of Canada’s Olympic contingent.

That seemed unthinkable just 12 months earlier after Maschmeyer garnered
Top Goaltender honours at the 2016 IIHF Women’s World Championship in
Kamloops, B.C., fashioning a 1.25 goals-against average and .956 save
percentage to backstop Canada to a silver medal.

“There was a lot of emotions that I went through,” she says. “I’ve dreamed
about making that Olympic roster since I was little, so to get passed over,
it was tough. I didn’t see it coming, but being named as an alternate
goaltender, I knew I had to be ready for that role instead.”

She used that difficult time to change scenery; she moved from Calgary to
Montreal to play for Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League
(CWHL), although there were a couple of trips back to Calgary to fill in
with Team Canada when injuries necessitated her recall.

“I felt that going to Montreal would be a good decision for me to separate
my two worlds,” says Maschmeyer, who was lights-out during the 2017-18
season; she finished 18-5 with a CWHL-record-tying six shutouts, and was a
finalist for goaltender of the year.

“I was heartbroken after getting that [Olympic] call, but I learned how to
be resilient. I was just really focused on being in the moment when I was
in Montreal and playing for my teammates,” she says. “In those moments that
maybe I didn’t love hockey, they made me love the game again.”

Maschmeyer carried the confidence from her CWHL success into the offseason,
and arrived at Canada’s National Women’s Team Fall Festival in September
with a new perspective.

That mindset proved to be successful – Maschmeyer earned a 4 Nations Cup
roster spot, her first national team duty since the 2017 women’s worlds.
She is hoping to showcase what she learned from being passed over for
PyeongChang.

“For any camp, I think back to all the moments I’ve trained and know that
my preparation will take over,” she says. “I have a different perspective
now. I am thinking of playing in the moment and not thinking too far
ahead.”

The 4 Nations Cup not only marks the start of a new season, it marks the
start of a new Olympic cycle as the focus shifts to Beijing 2022. With that
in mind, Maschmeyer is looking to do all she can with the opportunity
presented to her.

“It is a new chapter and it is on to the next thing,” she says. “I am
excited to be back and hungrier than ever. I am ready to move forward and
ready to play for Canada now and hopefully at the next Olympic Games.”

As Maschmeyer continues to sharpen her craft between the pipes, she has a
great mentor and friend close by in Shannon Szabados. Although the two have
rarely played for Canada at the same events, the Albertans are certainly
familiar with each other.

“She played with the boys, so did I, and it was Shannon that paved that
path for me and it made me feel like I could do it too,” says Maschmeyer,
who followed Szabados to the Alberta Junior Hockey League. “Now, we are in
a different position as teammates and competitors, which is amazing. I
think having your role model become your competitor is awesome. I have so
much respect for her.”

The two puck-stoppers grew up around the Edmonton area and it was Szabados
that Maschmeyer looked up to as she advanced in the game. Throughout the
tryouts, camps and teams, a friendship grew between them.

Count Szabados, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, as among those not
surprised to see Maschmeyer excelling again after missing out on
centralization.

“I’ve known Emerance since she was seven years old,” she says. “Recently,
I’ve been able to get to know her personally and it’s been fun to watch her
grow. She is a hard worker and super talented.”

“There wasn’t much to be said [after the centralization roster was named].
She took it really well and used it as motivation. She has shown us the
level she can play at through her college career, world championship and in
the CWHL, She’s young and [I think] she’s the future of goaltending in
Canada.”